Over half of U.S. Gulf oil output still offline

--More than half of Gulf oil production and 29% of natural-gas production still shut in from Isaac.

--Most rigs and platforms have been restaffed after the storm

--Some companies say they are waiting on infrastructure to return to fully ramp up production

HOUSTON--Oil and gas companies in the Gulf Coast said Tuesday that Hurricane Isaac left little damage to energy infrastructure in its wake, but more than half of the offshore oil output in the region and some refining capacity remained offline as crews worked to restart facilities.

The U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, which oversees offshore oil and gas production, reported that about 51.5% of the oil produced in the Gulf's federal waters, or 710,866 barrels a day of crude, was offline. The bureau also said 29% of the Gulf's natural-gas production, or 1.31 billion cubic feet a day, remained shut in.

That is down from 58.3% of oil production and 38.6% of natural-gas production that remained offline Monday.

Crews continued to return to platforms and rigs in the Gulf. Just 21 of 596 Gulf production platforms and two of 76 drilling rigs operating in the Gulf remained evacuated as of Tuesday morning, according to the BSEE's tally, compared with 71 platforms and six rigs without personnel Monday.

Some energy companies operating offshore said they were still waiting on crucial infrastructure to come online before fully ramping up oil and gas production.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp.
APC, -0.10%
said Tuesday it had restored production at its Independence Hub platform and was ramping up production there and at other platforms "as third-party-operated pipelines and infrastructure allow." The company was waiting on infrastructure availability to restart production at the Neptune platform.

A spokesman for BP PLC (BP) said the company is continuing to restaff offshore operations and is working to resume normal operations there.

Stone Energy Corp. (SGY) said it was producing 18,000 barrels of oil a day in the Gulf as of Sept. 3, about half its normal production there. Two fields, the Amberjack and Pampano, remained shut in while waiting on onshore processing facilities.

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (EPD) said inspections of its offshore platforms evacuated because of the storm "revealed no significant damage."

Enterprise's onshore natural-gas processing facilities in southern Louisiana and its Acadian natural-gas pipeline system were up and running, but operators of the infrastructure that feeds Enterprise's assets in southern Louisiana were "in various stages of resuming operations as they address lingering high-water and power issues," the company said in a news release.

McMoRan Exploration Co. (MMR) said its rigs, which were secured and evacuated for the storm, were unharmed. Crews have returned, and operations, including exploratory activities and well recompletion, have resumed.

Hercules Offshore Inc. (HERO), an offshore drilling company, said all its rigs and liftboats in the Gulf have been accounted for, and crews haven't found any damage in preliminary inspections.

Refiners have said their facilities sustained little damage, and they are working to restart operations. The U.S. Department of Energy reported Monday that nearly all refineries affected by the storm have restarted or are in the process of doing so, though some are still running at reduced rates.

Marathon Petroleum Corp. (MPC) said its 464,000-barrel-a-day Garyville, La., refinery is back to normal operations following the storm.

Phillips 66
PSX, +0.37%
said power was restored to its 247,000-barrel-a-day Alliance refinery in Belle Chasse, La., early Tuesday morning, and staff is in the process of bringing it back online. The company said it will be a few weeks before the refinery is operating at normal rates.

Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA) and Motiva Enterprises said Sept. 2 that the refinery in Norco, La., is restarting, though some units are still operating at reduced rates. The Convent, La., refinery is restarting as well, though some electrical power issues are still being resolved.

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